


In Love With A Stranger

by AuthorA97



Series: Fallen Star Series [9]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Aliens, Aliens everywhere, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Drama & Romance, Found Family, Gen, Jack Harkness Being Jack Harkness, Jack Harkness Flirts, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Teen Angst, The Many Deaths of Jack Harkness, Unresolved Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:34:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26654509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuthorA97/pseuds/AuthorA97
Summary: Leah Luna-Johnson has just survived a whole year by herself. Her friends were dead, her parents were dead, and the Captain's fate was in the air. She had only one friend left. Why was everyone getting so upset by him? She doesn't judge Jack for his shitty friends.
Relationships: Gwen Cooper/Rhys Williams, Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness/John Hart (Past), Leah Luna Johnson & Jack Harkness, Owen Harper/Toshiko Sato
Series: Fallen Star Series [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/768210
Kudos: 2
Collections: Spencer Saga Series





	1. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

A whole year had passed, and Leah remembered every second.

Jack was still gone.

The team came back from the Himalayas, Jack still gone. The year reset. Leah suspected everyone moved to a different location unless they were at the center point of the paradox reset. Why did she think that? Because after everyone started chanting for the Doctor, after the entire world turned back, Leah found herself in a hug with her moms.

Leah cried for a long while in that hug.

What made her cry even harder was when Aunt Chloe came home the next day, asking if Leah heard from Jack.

She remembered that conversation. For them, it happened last night. For her, it was a year ago. Jack was talking about the Master, and the Toclafane, and the Doctor and her future self. Chloe brought Leah to Torchwood Three to give the team the report on what happened when Leah was the only team member left here to fight.

Leah hadn’t liked talking about it. Her mum came with them, hugging Leah’s shoulders the whole time while glaring at the Torchwood Team. Leah needed that support. Describing the year to her friends...telling them they died so early on...and where Jack was in the middle of it all.

“Where did he go?” Gwen asked Leah, as Leah stalled in her story.

She swallowed a lump in her throat, it kept coming back up. Leanna squeezed her shoulders, hugging her daughter from behind. Leah let out a shaking breath.

Leah couldn’t imagine it. “I only heard rumors-”

“Where was Jack?” Ianto asked.

Tears were coming out of her eyes. “...in the sky. With- with him. For a whole year...it must’ve been torture...”

Soon, Leah wasn’t the only one crying. 

That was three weeks ago.

Jack was still gone.

==ILWAS==

They were out hunting an alien. Leah wasn’t even mad at them for it. The alien was a prick- robbing ATMs, stealing cars, scaring civilians. Leah wouldn’t mind if the blowfish was thrown into a Torchwood cell.

Leah was working comms back at the Hub. A whole year of hiding in corners and dark damp basements left an impression. She barely liked the distance between the Hub and her mum’s flat.

Her parents bought a flat in Cardiff. Yeah, they decided after Leah cried in their arms for two hours. Leanna said it was to keep the Team from hurting their daughter, while Thelma said it was for Leah’s comfort. Leah got that they wanted a fresh start here. This was as fresh as her family would get.

Still. Leah was at the Hub. She didn’t much like going out on missions. She liked being behind the scenes.

_ “I’m telling you, I can’t trace him!”  _ Owen snapped over the comms.

_ “We could trace the car, it’s one of those fancy ones!”  _ Gwen offered.

_ “He ripped it out!” _ Owen argued.

_ “He can’t have got all of it.” _ Chloe pointed out.

Leah huffed. “Did you try asking witnesses?”

Silence from comms.

Leah sighed. “Pull over and ask someone. He looks like one of your blowfish in a sports car.  _ Someone  _ noticed.”

_ “...you know she’s right _ .” Ianto pointed out.

Leah went back to texting.

_ ‘These humans are idiots.’ _

“ _ Excuse me.”  _ Gwen’s voice came from the Comm. “ _ Have you seen a Blowfish driving a sports car?...Thank you.” _

Leah’s phone pinged with a reply. 

_ ‘You’re the one that insisted on working there’ _

Leah snorted. ‘ _ Cause they’re so stupid they need help.’ _

“ _ Species not on record-” _ Tosh began.

“It’s a Qhoqad.” Leah supplied. “From Brih. Did none of you pay attention to my lecture?”

_ “No.” _ Owen and Gwen answered.

_ “You needed to put that in the file!”  _ Tosh instructed.

_ “-Owen slow down.”  _ Gwen warned.

“I did!” Leah insisted. “Read it again!”

_ “I’m in the middle of a chase!”  _ Owen insisted.

_ “...oh she did.” _ Tosh cleared her throat.  _ “DNA type says some sort of land fish.” _

“ _ All I’m saying is, you are speeding and there are children.” _ Gwen told Owen.

“ _ Well, if kids are out at midnight, they’ve got it coming.”  _ Owen argued.

“ _ Detecting high levels of algae.” _ Tosh noted.

“ _ Who’s afraid of the big scary fish, then?”  _ Gwen teased.

“ _ Big fish with a gun.” _ Owen pointed out.

_ “It’s not even a fancy gun.” _ Chloe reminded them.

“ _ Special weapons?” _ Ianto asked.

_ “No, just an Earth gun.” _ Chloe answered.

“ _ Do we need special weapons?” _

“No.” Leah and Chloe answered. 

“ _ What are we gonna do when we catch it?” _ Owen asked. 

“Bring him in. We’ll lock him downstairs, find his home, and call them.” Leah replied. “Most of them know where they belong anyway.”

“ _ Jack would know.” _ Tosh stated.

“ _ Yeah, well, Jack’s not here, is he?”  _ Owen snapped. “ _ Jack’s disappeared. Fat lot of good Jack is.” _

Her phone pinged again. Leah checked it to see what her friend was texting her.

“ _ Blowfish!”  _ Gwen called out.

“Qhoqad!”

_ Do better training them then _

Leah would text Garfield back in a second. There was stuff going on. She started typing away at her work computer. Hacking into the traffic lights was laughably easy. She switched them to Torchwood’s favor. 

“Anything?” Leah asked.

“ _ Hold on.”  _ Owen replied.

She could see on the trackpad that Torchwood’s car was taking too tight turns and reaching high speeds.

“Is he stopping?” Leah asked.

_ “No, he keeps running the lights.” _ Tosh reported.

“Ugh, that’s rude.” Leah complained.

“ _ Hold the wheel.” _ Owen instructed.

“ _ Don’t you dare, Owen.” _ Gwen warned.

Leah huffed. “Owen. You can’t keep doing that.”

“ _ Hold the wheel!”  _ Owen yelled.

Leah rolled her eyes.

“ _ Right, got it.” _ Gwen grabbed the wheel.

Leah heard gunshots going off. She shook her head. “We’ll be having words when you get back, Harper.”

_ “You can talk all you like after I nab him!”  _ Owen yelled back.

That didn’t make her feel better. It made her feel worse. She would need to really work out a way for Owen to vent out his aggression in a way that was healthy. Chloe shouldn’t have to write a report  _ and  _ dig out bullets from aliens.

Maybe she could convince Latshaw to spar with him. Latshaw was a good spar partner. He was helpful to Leah. Leah didn’t want to risk being alone again, so she trained a lot with the vampire. Leah would  _ never  _ lose a fight again. She wouldn’t lose her mothers.

Owen might benefit from Latshaw’s method of training. It could help Leah too.

“ _ Where is it? Where’s it gone?” _ Gwen asked. This was followed by car doors slamming shut.

Leah pressed a button on the computer. Input of sound came instead from her Bugs. Each Torchwood agent wore one. Leah insisted on it. More reliable than any comm, harder to find in case of being a hostage. She chose the audio feed from _ ‘IanTwo’ _ , and switched on the cameras for  _ ‘Harp-Four’ _ .

Gunshots came out from the speakers. Leah checked the feed, seeing lights going off behind a curtain. Also the door of that house was wide open.

“Go!” Leah ordered.

The team moved. Once inside, Leah did a quick assessment. The Qhoqad was holding someone at gunpoint. Someone was on the ground, bleeding. Another woman was crying.

“Gwen, left with the civilian. Tosh, take the right. Ianto, Chloe, center to aim. Owen, the victim.” Leah instructed. She changed the visual feed to Tosh-3-ko. The humans moved to those positions. Gwen took care of the other civilian, moving her to the side. Owen pulled out medical gloves to take care of the fallen man. The other three prepared to fire. “Tosh, scans?”

“ _ Massive levels of adrenalin, mixed with approximately three grammes of cocaine. This fish is wired.” _

“ _ So, this is Team Torchwood.” _ The Qhoqad mocked them. “ _ The teacher’s pets. But teacher’s gone, hasn’t he? Leaving the kiddy kids all alone. And look at you, trying so hard to be all grown up. The doctor, with his hands full of blood. The carer, with her oh-so-beating heart. The technician, with her cold devices. The veterian, with a slow finger. Which leaves me with the office boy, promoted beyond his measure. The little alien, betraying her own kind to human trash. All of you, lost without your master.” _

Flashes slapped Leah in the face. Images of the Master, statues all over the planet, his announcements over the television, hearing his laugh when her mothers died...

_ “All of you, pretending to be so brave. All of you, so scared.”  _ He pressed a kiss to the hair of the crying hostage.  _ “So, what about it, minion? Can you do it? How good are you? How sharp is your aim? What if you kill her? What if I kill her first? Can you shoot before I do? Can you? Dare you? Would you? Won’t you?” _

Someone fired a shot. Leah flinched back. She didn’t see any of her folks fire it.

Only one guy could fire a shot between the eyes like that.

_ “Hey, kids. Did you miss me?” _

==ILWAS==

The team was back in the Hub. Leah walked among the team as they decompressed from the mission.

“Are you sure no more like him came through?” Gwen asked Leah.

Leah shook her head. “I was monitoring the Rift Activity monitor. There weren’t any spikes. Did you tell the family-”

“Cokehead in fancy dress.” Gwen supplied. “They bought the whole thing, no Retcon needed.”

“Good.” Leah walked away from her, checking on Tosh. “You keep watch of the Rift, just in case someone decides to be smart. Ianto! What happened to the car?”

“It’s been impounded. I’ll get it back to the owner in the morning.” Ianto reported.

Leah nodded. “Chloe! The gun?”

“It was in the glovebox of the car. Once I’m done processing, it can go in the morning.” Chloe explained.

“Also good.” Leah ignored Jack’s watchful eyes on her. She looked instead at Owen, who was rushing towards her. “How’s our dead Qhoqad friend?”

“Bio-profile’s on screen now.” Owen reported. “Nothing in his genetic make-up liable to contaminate the city.”

“Alright. Tosh, could you add that for me to the species database? With proper information, mind you, I don’t want a repeat of the Sheshema.” Leah cautioned.

“We agreed that was Owen’s fault.” Tosh reminded her, with the usual exclamation of ‘Oi!’ from Owen. 

Leah smiled. She turned back towards Ianto. “Ianto? Since Owen’s done, mind taking the body down?”

“My pleasure. And I’ll be making sushi.” Ianto joked.

Leah laughed, then grimaced. “Oh, no, please. Your sushi is terrible, stick with tea.” She turned to the last person she wanted to see. The last person left to talk with, really. 

Jack stood by his office door, a proud smile on his face. “Was wondering how long until you took over the Hub.”

Leah kept her stance firm. She didn’t fidget or squirm under his grin. She just watched him. Let him dig his own grave. 

“I mean, did you decorate in here?” Jack asked.

_ Splatters of blood on the wall. _

_ Her mom screamed then stopped. _

_ A Weevil roaring. _

_ Leah firing off gunshots. _

“Got a desk, if that’s what you mean.” Leah replied. The desk was the only one positioned away from where her parents were torn apart by Toclafane. She preferred any other view.

Jack nodded, sliding his hands into his slacks. “Yeah, it looks nice.” He squinted at it. “Are those new bugs?”

Leah refused to confirm. She was giving the Bugs for Weevils upgrades. They were due for them. She wanted to play music from them, to help calm the Weevils down in their more anxious moods. She wouldn’t tell Jack that. 

“Are you okay?” Leah asked instead.

She remembered their last conversation. Over a year ago, she could recall it instantly. Jack’s concern for Terra, him taking on the Master with the Doctor, fighting Toclafane. It gave Leah nightmares ever since. She could imagine how hard it was for Jack himself.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you fought-” A lump formed in her throat. She tried to swallow it down. “You left. For a long time.”

Jack squared his shoulders back, letting out a sigh. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“We knew nothing, Jack.” Gwen snapped. “Leah had to tell us everything!”

Jack glanced at Leah. “Everything?”

Leah worried the skin of her lip with her teeth. “It was a long year alone.”

Jack seemed to get what Leah meant. He wasn’t surprised in the slightest. 

“Where were you?” Tosh asked. 

“I found my special girl.” Hack admitted, a fond smile on his face. 

“Did she fix you?” Owen asked.

“What’s to fix? You don’t mess with this level of perfection.” Jack joked.

“Not like that.” Leah replied. He was gone for three months after leaving here. The Year reset ages ago. He should’ve been back. He should have been here with them, unless he needed more help than they could give.

“Are you going back to her?” Ianto asked.

“I came back for you.” Jack answered, staring right at Ianto. He realized quickly his that statement could be read, though he still looked across the room with a smile at Ianto. “All of you.”

_ Give Ianto a kiss for me! _

Leah shivered.

Her computer let out loud pings.

“The Rift.” Leah stated. She walked over to her table, grabbing a Bug. “You lot head out. Jack, take this.”

Jack eyed the bug in his hand. The team went about getting their gear. He smiled at it. “I’ll get my Comm-”

“No. Take the Bug.” Leah ordered. “The comms are weak and frail. The Bugs hold on. Take Hark-Six, join the team!”

Jack took the bug. It hopped on his coat, scurrying beneath the lapels and latching on. He walked out with the team. 

“She always like this?” He asked them.

“Yes.” They answered.

“I can hear you!” Leah called back to them, taking place at her computer to monitor things.

==ILWAS==

The Rift was on top of a parking garage. A woman walked out of a Rift. Now she didn’t look like a woman, from her all leather bodysuit and biker helmet, but the cling of leather to her hips exposed her.

“Get off! I didn’t do it. Please, leave me alone.” Someone pleaded.

The woman looked over. Shr lifted the helmet off her head, shaking her black hair out from it. She plucked sunglasses from her breasts to place them on her nose. She saw two men fighting on the hood of a car. With nothing better to do she walked towards them, her boots clicking on the floor. 

“Help me.” The victim begged once he saw her.

“Come any closer and I’ll open up his neck.” The mugger warned.

“How?” Her voice was gravely, and groggy. Like she was exhausted, or maybe smoked a twelve pack.

“What?” The mugger asked, confused.

She sighed, rubbing her hand on her face. “How are you cutting? Are you giving them a smile, or a necklace? There’s a difference, and believe me it  _ makes  _ the difference.” She asked, like it was a perfectly normal conversation topic. “Are you new at this?”

“No.” The victim cried, sobbing.

“I’m not bluffing.” The mugger warned.

“See...poor thing. You’re so stupid.” The woman walked up to the mugger, lifting him off by his feet. The victim fell to the ground, skittered and frightened. “You don’t bluff  _ me _ .”

Her hand grabbed his throat. He gagged, twitching his legs trying to get her to let go. Instead, she walked over to dangle him over the edge. She smiled wide as he stilled.

“Oh, God. Shit. Please, please stop.” The mugger pleaded.

“Not God, no.” She let him go. “That bastard’s never done me favors.”

She looked down, seeing the body below. The mugging victim walked up behind her. She weighed throwing him down too.

“He’s dead.” He whimpered when she grabbed his shoulder, making him lean over to look at the body. “Please.”

Her hand let go. “Go before I change my mind.” He ran off. “I’m thirsty now.”

==ILWAS==

She was at a bar now. Ignoring the crowd, she walked over to the counter. She ignored the looks from everyone else at the bar- even the cute ones. 

The bartender walked up to her. “How can I help you, then?”

She reached behind her back. “One bottle of Vodka, two reds, and a whiskey.”

“What table?” The bartender asked.

“This one.” She tapped the counter. “For me. Get me the bottles. And a shot glass.”

“Ma’am, I can’t give you those bottles.”

She huffed. She pulled her hand back, revealing a gun. As the bartender jumped back, she fired three shots into the ceiling.

Everyone screamed, running out.

“Can’t get good help these days.” Quill stood up, reaching over to grab the requested bottles.

==ILWAS==

Jack was just happy to be back with the team. The tiny little bug on his coat made something warm settle in his chest. More than that, seeing Leah lead the team was the most beautiful thing to come back to. He could see Terra doing much the same thing. She was a natural leader.

He remembered a time nobody on the team respected the alien. Owen being the worst of all. Now they all obeyed without protest, or question. Jack couldn’t be prouder of his Time Lady. Either version of her. Even if Terra’s ask for him to kiss Ianto might make him blush.

They were at the sight of the Rift activity. It didn’t bode well that there was a body on the pavement below.

“Fragments of Rift energy around the neck, arm and shoulders.” Tosh reported.

“He was grabbed and pushed.” Jack reasoned. 

“Well that seems to be the case, innit?” Chloe replied. “Explains all of it.”

“How did you ever manage without me?” Jack teased.

“So, there’s a potential killer on the loose. Bipedal, maybe humanoid.” Owen reported.

_ “Tosh, anything non-human to report?” _ Leah’s voice came over his ear. It came quiet from the little bug on his shoulder. Jack found he actually liked the little guy, was happy to have one to himself.

“No readings to suggest that.” Tosh answered.

“Okay, let’s get back and see what we can piece together.” Jack reasoned.

“Taking charge again, you?” Gwen noted, more than a little snarky.

“I was hoping for a little power struggle, resolved by some naked wrestling.” Jack teased. He even gave the retreating Gwen a smile.

She ignored him, talking to the two officers behind the tape. “Thank you, Andy. You too Leanna. You can let SOCO in now, and they can eliminate us from whatever they want.”

“This another one of your spooky-dos, is it?” Andy asked her.

“Not yet, but I’ll let you know.” Gwen lied. She was getting better at that.

“Thanks, Andy. You’ve been very helpful. Don’t mention it, Gwen.” Andy joked. The Torchwood Team walked beneath the tape. 

“It’s better than earlier.” The blonde woman beside him told him. “When she didn’t even say hi. Neither did my sister.”

“Oh fuck off.” Chloe replied.

Jack grinned. He smoldered towards the other officer. “Don’t tell me. Leanna Luna-Johnson?”

She tensed. “Do I know you?”

“That’s Captain Jack.” Chloe informed.

The look Leanna was giving him wasn’t too friendly.

_ “Remind Mum to play nice.” _ Leah requested.

Jack grinned. “Pleasure to meet you. Leah says only good things.”

_ “Someone stop Jack from flirting with my mum.” _

“Not a chance.” Owen replied.

Leanna gave him a scanning stare. Had she taught it to Leah, or had Leah taught it to her? Jack couldn’t tell. “We’re going to talk, _ Captain _ .”

“Dinner at your place with the missus?” Jack asked.

“Yes.” Leanna replied.

“ _ Someone kill Jack please.” _

“He’d come back.” Ianto reminded her

Jack laughed. He smiled again at Leanna before walking towards the van. He reached for the door handle. A manipulator on his wrist beeping. He froze.

“Whoa, that never beeps.” Ianto realized.

It wasn’t likely, but Jack hoped it was a message from Terra. Maybe she was in town again, wanting an assist. Perhaps it could be Martha Jones calling for a one night stand. His chances weren’t that great. “That’s what I was thinking.” It could even be the Doctor calling to check that Terra hadn’t fixed the manipulator for him.

The hologram popped up. It stared in Jack’s direction, with odd precision.

_ “I would be offended at the answering machine but we aren’t exactly close now, are we?” _ The hologram woman asked.

Jack tensed. He stared at the blue hologram, full of shock and disgust and more than a little rage.

_ “Anyway. You’ve probably traced the energy shift, found that body- don’t feel bad, he was a shithead. All me.”  _ She pointed a finger at herself, using it to push her sunglasses back up her nose. “ _ Deal with that mess before coming to me would you? Retrolock the transmission coordinates to find it. I’m too drunk to read the name. Hurry, yeah? I’ve got shit to catch up on, and a countdown until I’m no longer sober enough to share.” _

The hologram faded. Jack’s anger only spiked.

_ “Whoa-k. Jack who was-” _

“Stay here. Don’t come after me.” Jack ordered. He opened the van’s door.

“Who was that?” Gwen asked.

_ The last person I wanted to see on this earth. _ “Stay here.” He started the car, driving off. He reached for the bug on his coat.

The little guy leapt off, flying just out of reach. If he tried for it he would only risk crashing the car.

_ “I’m sending Tosh your location. You’re not vanishing on us again.” _

“Leah. You will send them back to the Hub. They have to stay out of it.” Jack insisted.

_ “You wanna tell- yes Gwen I’m fucking talking to him!- tell them that?” _

Jack didn’t like that answer. He always liked the stubborn ones. Terra did too. He couldn’t let them get involved. If they got involved, Leah would join in.

He couldn’t let Leah meet Quill. He would die a million fucking deaths before then.

“Sorry.” Risking his own life again, Jack let go of the wheel to grab the bug. He quickly smashed it against the wheel before tossing it out the window. “She’s not gonna like that.”

==ILWAS==

The bar was easy to find once he could trace it. A good distance from the murder. If it were any other person, Jack would be impressed. The bar was empty too. Chatter outside was mentioning someone with a gun.

Quill wasn’t good at being quiet.

Jack stepped into the empty bar. Quill was sitting at the counter, pouring Vodka into a shot glass. Quill downed it before glancing towards him. As she lowered the shot glass, she held up a finger telling Jack to wait.

Quill grinned without joy at him. Jack’s glare hardened at the sight.

They walk towards each other like western gunfighters.

“Hey.” She greeted him.

Jack punched her in the face.

This only made Quill laugh. She punched him in the gut. Jack got her again in the face, knocking the sunglasses. She growled- turning her head to straighten them out, Jack hearing something click in place. She turned to punch Jack in the dick.

Now  _ that  _ wasn’t very nice.

==ILWAS==

Leah was furious. Not as mad as the team itself, that still left her plenty mad!

Everyone packed themselves into a taxi. Leah stayed connected through her bugs.

“ _ Reports coming in of a bar disturbance. Same coordinates as the SUV.”  _ Tosh reported. 

“I’m telling Mum that you’re dealing with it.” Leah reported.

“ _ Okay, so who the hell was the fit bird in the hologram?” _ Owen asked.

_ “Jack recognized her.”  _ Ianto pointed out. 

_ “Why didn’t he let us go with him?”  _ Tosh 

“ _ Because it’s typical Jack, isn’t he. He disappears, he comes back, then he runs away again.” _ Gwen ranted. “ _ He shuts us out. We don’t even know his real name.” _

“Hey, he had a good reason for going alone.” Leah countered.

_ “We could’ve helped him!”  _ Gwen insisted.

“ _ I  _ couldn’t even help him, and I knew who he was fighting. None of you stood a chance!” Leah insisted.

_ “Gwen come on. None of us even knew it would get as bad as it did.” _ Chloe reminded Gwen.

_ “Because we didn’t even know who he was meeting!” _

_ “Or which time he comes from.”  _ Tosh pointed out.

“ _ Exactly. He’s supposed to be our boss and we know nothing about him. It drives me crazy.” _ Gwen admitted.

“ _ It is more fun when he’s around, though.”  _ Ianto pointed out.

“ _ Yeah _ .” Owen agreed. 

_ “For sure.” _ Chloe agreed. 

“ _ Definitely _ .” Tosh agreed.

“ _ Yeah, it is.”  _ Gwen conceded.

“Wouldn’t change a bit.” Leah said. “So when you find him, please drag him back by his stupid coat so I can kill him for trying to ditch us.”

_ “Yes ma’am.” _ Owen answered.

Leah reached for her phone. She should probably take the time to text Garfield back. Already a text was there, waiting for her.

_ ‘The Captain came back, didn’t he?’ _

_ ‘He did. How’d you guess?’ _

_ ‘It’s the only reason you’d be so quiet for an hour without as much as a by your leave.’ _

_ ‘Sorry. It got chaotic really fast.’ _

_ ‘No I get it. He’s your friend. How is he, everything good now?’ _

Leah glanced at her Comm links. Hark-Six was quiet, stuck to the inside of the car. Jack got really smart at hiding it. She thought about that bar he was at, where that woman must’ve gone to after commiting murder. Jack apparently knew this woman so well, he would leave the team behind again to chase her down.

_ ‘Yep! Everything’s great.’ _

==ILWAS==

The bar was a mess. 

Quill kept her sunglasses on. She adjusted the jacket, walking back over to the bar. Popping the cork out the wine, she swigged back a gulp. 

“Someone’s pissy.” Quill commented. 

Jack leveled his gun at her. Quill raised a gun right back, aiming it directly at him without even glancing his way. 

“You look good.” She complimented. 

Jack glared. “You don’t.”

She laughed. One handed, she poured herself anothe shot. “Do you even know who I am?”

“The Doctor told me.” Jack snapped. 

“Oh the  _ Doctor  _ told you. The patron saint of truthfulness.” Quill took another shot. “Just what did he tell you, huh? How much of my search history did he read?”

“He said you’re the one who killed Terra.” Jack snapped.

Quill paused, raising another glass to her lips. 

“From what I remember on the Valiant, I believe it.” Jack added. “You’re the only person sadistic enough to kill her.”

Quill knocked the drink down. She slammed it down on the counter. “Great. Awesome. I bet that was the time of your life. Tell me, do you know if she was afraid? The Doctor tell you any of  _ that _ ?”

Jack stormed up to her, the gun nearly clicking against her shades. “You don’t get to talk about her.”

“As her murderer, I have more right than you.” Quill countered. She stared down the barrel at Jack, unflinching. She moved her own gun to sim at his chest. “The man that let me kill her in the first place.”

Jack’s face was contorted in fury. 

“Still wearing that old getup?” Quill asked. “It’s out of place in this time.”

“Captain Jack Harkness, note the stripes.” Jack warned.

“ _ Captain _ Quill J Crowley, note the finger.” She flipped him the bird.

“Hey, I worked my way up through the ranks.” Jack snapped.

“Sure ya did, sure ya did. Bet those ranks  _ loved  _ you.” She put the shot glass down, sighing in disappointment. “Hey. Want some?”

“No.”

“Great, more for me.” She put her gun on the counter. Jack wasn’t so naive to think Quill couldn’t grab it again in an instant. Quill used her teeth to pop the bottle open. “Alcohol from this century is weak.”

Jack remembered the Doctor’s warning. Quill was from the future, a future where she killed Terra. But Jack only needed to remember six months under her torture, under torture by Gamora- Terra’s sister. That was enough to convince Jack that Quill was a monster.

“Should I apologize for John Hart?” Quill asked.

Jack tensed. “Why?”

“Causes I killed him.” Quill answered plainly. She stared down at her shot glass. “He did me wrong- he deserved it. I’m glad he’s dead...guess that answered if I should apologize.”

“How?” Jack asked. “Did you just search the universe for people I cared about?”

Quill gave him a flat stare. Or so Jack assumed, she never took off those fucking shades.

“No.” Quill answered. “He just killed the wrong person- someone I... It had nothing to do with you.”

“Doubt that.”

“Believe me, you would know if it was about you. His corpse would be a new decoration for your wall. Killing him was all for me.” Quill replied. Her gaze went down to the glass of whiskey still on the bar. “Whiskey.” Quill picked up the fourth bottle. She popped off the top. “He died in rehab.”

“Which one? Drink, drugs, sex and-” Jack asked.

“Murder.” Quill deadpanned.

That made Jack laugh. “Ha!  _ You _ went to murder rehab?”

He heard rumors about the place, a few rogue Time Agents being sent there or sending various time criminals there. The worst of the worst went to the Stormcage, the less crazy ones were sent to be reformed at Murder Rehab. The idea of John Hart going there was believable. Quill going there was not.

Quill looked away. She touched her knee, rubbing away some of the dirt smudges from their fight. “Yes.”

“Somebody finally caught you. That’s something.” Jack challenged. He took the seat beside Quill, fighting an urge to shoot her now. “Guess it didn’t help any if you killed John.”

“No shame, no regrets, no looking back.” Quill reported. She took another swig of whiskey. “Life motto. You should try it, it works  _ wonders _ .”

“Is this the part where you tell me you’ve reformed now? All guilty for killing John and Terra?” Jack wondered. 

“No. I’m a recovering murderer.” Quill deadpanned. “That doesn’t go away. We’re never  _ clean _ .”

“Get out of my territory.” Jack ordered. He wasn’t going to risk Quill close to Leah. Quill openly admitting to having an itchy trigger finger. She wouldn’t hesitate killing Leah. “Right now.”

Quill put down the half empty bottle of whiskey. “Yeah. Guess you’re right.” She suddenly grinned. Like a fucking shark. “Except...you have  _ more  _ friends.”

Quill grabbed her gun. In two quick fire shots, she hit the glass on the main entrance and the door blocking the bathrooms.

Jack’s heart raced.

==ILWAS==

Leah leaned back in surprise. The team worked very hard to sneak in without making a sound. How had that woman known they were there? Worse yet, did she manage to avoid not hitting them? Why was she wearing sunglasses at night? There were a lot of questions.

_ “Alright, everybody out.” _ The woman called out.

One by one, the team climbed out. Leah was watching from Chloe’s bug, John-One. Everyone had their guns raised towards her.

“ _ Everything all right, Jack?”  _ Gwen asked.

“ _ It’s okay, okay, okay.”  _ Jack assured, holding his hands out to the divided team to keep them from shooting. 

Leah doubted it was for protecting that woman. With his fast she was, Leah assumed that if the team started firing they would have no chance. She’d swat them like flies.

“ _ Aww. Look at the little babies. They’re just so cute I could pinch them.”  _ She turned to Chloe. Her smile widened. There was darkness to it. Something about it had her hearts racing. The woman moved her gaze towards Tosh.  _ “I think they’d like it. Would you like it? I think you’d like it.’ _

“ _ God, she’s worse than Jack.” _ Owen commented.

“ _ Oh, oh, do you have a team name? I love team names. Go on.” _ The woman urged. 

Jack glared at her. “ _ Torchwood _ .”

“ _ Perfect. I’m loving that. Torchwood. Granted, I thought it’d be  _ Touchwood _ , what with Mister Seduction here. Sorry,  _ Captain _ Seduction, I note the stripes.”  _ She grabbed the whiskey bottle, everyone flinching as if she was reaching for the gun.

As she drank, Jack introduced everyone. “ _ Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, Chloe Johnson, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper, meet-” _

Hold on, why was Leah not being introduced? She was also here. Not in the room, but she was here! She deserved some acknowledgment.

“ _ Quill J Crowley.”  _ Quill toasted the bottle before swigging down a gulp. 

“ _ We...go back.” _

“ _ Such a pretty back though. _ ” Quill winked at Jack’s ass.

Ianto got on that point fast. Leah really hoped he and Jack could finally take it seriously. “ _ In what way?” _

Quill smirked at him. “ _ What way would you like it to be?” _

“ _ Stop it.”  _ Quill pouted at Jack. “ _ It’s not like that. I would  _ never _.” _ He glared at Quill. An intense anger that only came from a heinous deed.

Quill continued to smirk. She climbed out of her seat, walking to the Torchwood team. “ _ Yeah we never did it. The idea of seeing him naked makes me very sad. But the look on his face gives me peace. I killed his husband.” _

_ “What? _ ” Jack snapped.

_ “John was pretty adamant that you were married.” _ Quill informed him.

_ “It was two weeks.” _

_ “In a time loop for five years. That’s marriage, sweetheart.” _

_ “He was the wife.” _

_ “No, he was adamant  _ you _ were the wife.” _

_ “He was the wife.” _

_ “You were the wife.” _ Quill laughed dryly.

_ “I bet you’re a great wife.” _

Quill looked over at Tosh, a pleasantly surprised smile on her face.

_ “What _ ?” Owen asked.

_ “Don’t pretend you haven’t noticed. We all know you noticed the leather. She’s gorgeous.”  _ Tosh argued.

She shook her head, looking towards Owen. “ _ Oh honey, you don’t want my attention.” _

“Is no one going to ask why she’s here?” Leah asked everyone. “None of you? We’re just focusing on Owen and Tosh crushing on the same person.”

_ “What are you doing here?”  _ Jack demanded, breaking up the conversation.

_ “Captain Seduction. Does your latest fling like that in the bedroom? I  _ do _ owe Johnny something important.” _ She raised up her arm, showing off the bracer there.

“ _ That’s the same as yours.” _ Tosh realized.

_ “A little smaller.” _ Jack noted.  _ “That was John’s.” _

“ _ But lasts much longer. Get two Time Agents in the same room together, it’s always about the size of the wrist strap.” _ She snarked. “ _ Granted this thing was  _ useless _ when I nabbed it off John. He’d left it like shit.” _

“ _ Yes, sorry, what’s a Time Agent?” _ Owen asked.

“An agent that works in time travel.” Leah answered.

“ _ What, he’s never told you about his past?”  _ Quill asked.

Gwen looked coldly towards Jack. “ _ No, he hasn’t.” _

_ “Ew. Drama.” _ Quill pressed a button on the vortex manipulator. A hologram appeared from it, showing off a metal canister. “ _ I’m sitting alone, minding my own business when Jack’s ex swaggers in. Yadda yadda yadda, he dies. And as he’s dying, he tells me. He tells me about this woman he fucked who’s done work on radiation cluster bombs.” _

“ _ I don’t like the sound of that.” _ Owen grumbled.

“ _ Three canisters, contents beyond toxic, swallowed up in a rift storm.”  _ Quill informed.

“ _ And ended up here.” _ Tosh reasoned. 

“ _ Ten points to the pretty one. Don’t worry, Owen, you still have a chance.” _ Quill assured. “ _ That’s the downside of your city being built on a rift in space and time. Now, left to their own devices, the radiation will break down the canisters and then infect your people and planet. They need to be neutralized.” _

Leah started to search the city for the radiation. She even cross referenced that with Rift activity. Cancelling out the lone bits from Quill Crowley.

“ _ What do you get out of this?” _ Jack questioned.

“ _ Meh.” _ Quill turned off the hologram. “ _ Now, there’s only one problem. I don’t know where they are. Hoping local knowledge might help.” _

“I’m already scanning for it guys.” Leah informed them. Her computer pinged from the search. “We’re already getting some matches.”

_ “Leah’s on it.”  _ Tosh reported.

_ “Leah, who is she?”  _ Quill wondered, raising her eyebrow. She spoke with a curiosity that sounded far too innocent to be real.

_ “Not your concern. _ ” Jack ordered, his tone so stern Leah blinked back in surprise. He glared at Tosh.

_ “Hmm.” _ Quill hummed, tracing her thumb on the bottle.  _ “Always one for secrets, aren’t you, Jack?” _

“ _ We do this, you get out of here when it’s finished. Right away.”  _ Jack ordered.

Quill perked up. “ _ Am I being arrested?” _

==ILWAS==

Jack stood on the perception filtered entrance. Quill was looking around at everything else.

“This sculpture is leaking.” Quill complained. “You have no taste.”

“Get on.” Jack ordered.

Quill harrumphed. She climbed on, standing at attention. “I really don’t see why you need to be this dramatic.”

“This is the entrance for tourists.” Jack instructed.

“Ugh, do I look  _ that _ pathetic?” Quill groaned.

==ILWAS==

Leah watched from her desk. Jack truer to get her to leave her. As if that was ever gonna happen. She wanted to stand her post. She wanted to meet this woman that had Jack running and so furious. Someone would have to stand between them and the team.

She stood up from her desk, walking towards the group. Leah stopped behind Owen. “Owen, I wanted to talk to you.”

Owen huffed. “Kinda busy with the-”

“Nothing, you’re trying to get a shot at her ass.” Leah supplied. “I actually wanted to ask you something. Before you sigh or huff or whatever, I wanna say it’s sparring with a vampire.”

Owen blinked at her. “You’re out of your bloody mind. Or however many brains your kind has.”

“27. And actually it’s two vampires fighting with us.” Leah explained. “I can’t in good conscience let you fight Weevils, and Latshaw is good at giving a fast punch.”

“You’re taking the piss.”

“Okay. Come to spar with us whenever we’re done today, and I don’t tell Jack exactly what happened to his chair while he was gone.” Leah bargained.

Owen glared at her. Leah tilted her head. “Fine.” He held up his hand. Leah shook it. “You’re fucking scary.”

Leah didn’t deny it.

By that time, Jack and Quill were halfway down from the topside.

Quill was looking around the room. Her lips in a bemused line. “It’s roomy, I’ll give you that.” She joked, her voice echoing down to them.

The entrance came down to a halt. Leah stood up, walking closer to them.

“Is there a full liquor bar?” Quill asked.

“Weapons.” Jack ordered.

Quill pulled out her gun, putting it in Jack’s hand. He moved it to a silver platter held up by Ianto.

“And the rest.” Jack instructed.

“That was it.” Quill answered. “My hands are lethal weapons. You want those too?”

Gwen looked up from her tablet. “Scans show she’s telling the truth. No weapons on her although there  _ is _ a lot of energy running through her shoes and her glasses.”

“Lose ‘em.” Jack instructed.

“Are you really gonna make me walk around in this mess  _ barefoot _ ?” Quill grimaced.

“Then the shades.” Jack argued. 

“No, it’s part of my look.”

“Put them on the tray.” Jack insisted.

“If she doesn’t want to, she doesn’t need to.” Leah argued. She walked over towards the group.

Jack glared at her. Leah could take his frustration. Personal issues took a back seat at work, Leah was working hard on that. She stared Quill in the face. Quill met the stare, grinning.

“You the mysterious  _ Leah  _ I heard about?” Quill asked. “I joked about them being babies, but I was wrong, you are an  _ infant.” _

“You don’t talk to her.” Jack ordered.

“Jack. It’s fine.” Leah insisted, stern.

Jack glared her way. Leah glared right back. She dared him to challenge her.

“Yeah  _ Jack _ . Let me  _ talk to her _ .” Quill teased.

“Don’t help.” Leah instructed. Quill snorted. “We have work to do. Jack, with me.”

Owen and Chloe started snickering. Tosh badly hid a smile. Ianto was doing a perfect job hiding an eye roll. Gwen glared at the others. 

“Someone’s in trouble with the boss.” Owen teased. “Better him than me.”

==ILWAS==

Leah stood with Jack in a hallway. This was far enough that none could hear them. Leah even made a point to turn off the bugs. 

“So we have a compulsive liar with advanced tech in her shoes, sunglasses, and a stolen Vortex Manipulator.” Leah listed. “And you just happen to be the only person that knows her.”

“Leah, this woman is dangerous, I’ll admit.” Jack began. “But we can’t trust her. We need to just find those canisters and send her on her way.”

“You’re very keen on that.” Leah noted. “What’s your history with her? Why are you so scared of her?”

Jack shook his head. “I can’t tell you.”

Leah narrowed her eyes. “Fine. Then why are you doing what she says?”

“There is the tiniest one percent chance she’s telling the truth. Which means this city is in danger.” Jack admitted.

“Okay...she is. I found three confirmed sites fitting the descriptions.” Leah explained. “So now I have to ask.  _ Who is she _ ?”

“She’s dangerous. That’s all you need to know!” Jack insisted.

“Why do you keep stonewalling me?” Leah asked. “Just tell me who she is! Why does she scare you? Why don’t you want her knowing about me?  _ Why are you like this! _ ”

“Leah, I swear, if I could tell you I would. Believe me when I say lives are on the line.” Jack insisted.

“I do believe you!” Leah replied. “I’m worried  _ for  _ you, Jack! Just tell me! No, no, come on, tell me. Talk to me.”

Jack reached up, holding Leah’s shoulders in his hands. He held her closer so Leah couldn’t look anywhere else but him. “I have died so many times. Been dragged back into life. Like being hauled over broken glass. I saw the end of the world.”

Leah swallowed. She remembered what it looked like. She reacted up, holding the hands on her shoulders. “Was it the Toclafane?”

Jack nodded, a bitter laugh coming from him. “Sometimes. But near the end, it was  _ her.” _

Leah tensed. “What?”

“She was there, on the  _ Valiant _ . She tortured me, Leah. Please. Don’t trust her.” Jack pleaded. 

“But- but she couldn’t remember it. Maybe she’s different. The Year changed a lot of people.” Leah saw it personally. So many people were different. Fear did awful things to people.

“No, she left before the reset.” Jack admitted. “But Leah these weren’t fearful things. Quill  _ loved it _ . She told us herself.”

“If she left early then she couldn’t remember it! She’s not like me. My kind were made to notice losing a whole year in a paradox.” Leah excused. 

Jack’s hands tightened. “You- you remember it?”

“Yeah. It’s our thing, Jack.” Leah reminded him. “Our people invented paradoxes just so we could be the only ones to remember. We’re smug pricks like that.”

“Whatever it is with her, it doesn’t matter. She’s not a good person.” Jack explained. “But after it was all over, I knew I belonged here. What kept me fighting was the thought of coming home to all of you.”

Leah let go of his hands, leaning in for a hug. Jack hugged her back- squeezing her like he’d seen her die. She squeezed him tighter. She suffered in the year, yes. Jack went through literal torture. Leah couldn’t imagine what that was like, what it did to a human’s soul. 

Then her phone pinged.

Leah leapt back, pulling out her phone. Garfield was texting her again. He was calling BS on her comment of everything being okay. Leah quickly texted him back.

_ ‘Why do you always think I’m lying?’ _

_ ‘I’ve played cards with you. You’re shit at lying.’ _

_ ‘Hey I’m a great fucking liar.’ _

_ ‘Pfft’ _

Leah snorted.

“Who are you texting?” Jack asked. 

“My friend.” Leah admitted. “Just- it’s nothing.”

_ ‘Fuck you. Nothing’s wrong. It’s just normal stuff.’ _

_ ‘Normal stuff at Torchwood is a world ending apocalypse for everyone else.’ _

“Doesn’t seem like nothing.” Jack teased, trying to bring levity to the moment. “Is it a boy? A girl?”

“No! Shut up!” Leah held her phone to her chest. “It’s- just Garfield! He’s-” Jack was grinning. Leah hit his arm. “It’s not like that!”

_ ‘Okay fine, the entire world is exploding and I’m trying not to make you panic. Does that make you feel better?’ _

“Never said a word.” Jack teased.

_ ‘Actually yeah.’ _

“He was my friend in the Year!” Leah defended. Jack’s smile stiffened, losing some of it’s joy. “He- my parents died. About a month in, back in the Hub. We- they had no chance. The T-Toc- they were too fast. Janet got them. I- I was alone for a long time...weeks. Garfield and I met...his parents died too. We bonded. We helped each other. That’s all it is!”

“He wouldn’t remember you, after.” Jack noted. “You looked him up, after everything reset?”

Leah fumbled on typing a letter. 

“Leah?”

“He- he met aliens before.” Leah excused. “He- his dad worked at Torchwood One. He- he gets it, Jack. Somebody  _ gets it.” _

Garfield admitted it all to her. His dad died at Canary Wharf, Garfield still knew what was going on. His dad explained it when the ghosts started showing up. Garfield knew what it was like to live with Torchwood hanging over your head.

During that Year, he helped her realize she didn’t have to be afraid of it. Garfield was living his life, free from the sword over his head that was there since the Ghosts. Garfield gave Leah strength she hadn’t had in a long time.

It felt good to have a friend.

“Good for you.” Jack praised. “We should get back to work.”

“Right.” Leah tucked her phone back in her pocket. “Yes. Dealing with the crazy torturer lady. We’re doing that.”

==ILWAS==

Tosh turned on the television screen. It showed the results that Leah found earlier.

“Seven hours ago, we logged a minor surge in Rift energy across three locations.” Leah reported.

“Eight of us, three locations, fun math. Two people per canister- add a third for spice.” Quill reasoned.

“Excuse me, I give the orders.” Jack scolded. 

“Yeah? You got something better?” Quill challenged. 

“Quill’s right.” Gwen interjected. Jack and Quill looked over at her. “Sorry. Er, do you prefer Quill or Captain?”

“From you? I’ll take a  _ Your Majesty _ .” Quill instructed. 

“Gwen?” Leah asked. Gwen turned to her. They had a silent exchange before Leah nodded. “Tosh, Owen, Chloe, take the north. Ianto, Jack, and I will go west. Gwen and the Majesty’ll take the docks.”

“Ahh no. I wanna hang out with the pretty ones.” Quill pouted. She crossed her arms, petulant.

“You’ll just flirt the whole time-” Leah argued.

“Excuse me. Not to repeat myself.” Jack eyed Leah. 

“Got a better idea?” Leah asked. 

Jack glass, ready to yell at them to keep their distance from Quill, to leave the assassin locked in chains in a Weevil’s cell. Leah wasn’t giving him much approval anyway, so he caved to it. “No, yours is fine.”

“Remember. It’s radioactive.” Quill reminded them. “Best not open Pandora’s Box.”

“Disburse.” Leah instructed.

The team cleared out. Owen, Tosh, and Chloe went off together. Ianto walked away, lingering close enough to wait for his team. 

“Gwen, I need a word.” Jack cautioned.

Gwen stayed behind. Leah stood nearby for this.

“Oh, can I watch this bit?” Quill asked. “He’s gonna give you all my dos and don’ts. I love it.”

“She’ll be with you in a second.” Jack scolded. “Leah, you stay too.”

Leah was giving him an odd look now. Quill huffed, rolling her head back. She walked over to the door, standing outside with Ianto. She Borrelli stuck her hands in her pockets. 

Jack put his hands on the table, glaring at the two women. “What the hell are you doing?”

“If I can get her talking, flirt a bit, she might drop her guard.” Gwen explained. “I can find out what she’s really up to.”

“You said for me to stay away. You said nothing about Gwen.” Leah added. “So we’re following your rules.”

“Okay, clever.” Jack conceded. 

“Thank you.” Gwen and Leah replied. 

“But dangerous. Leave it to me.” Jack cautioned. 

“Leah led the team while you were away, Jack. She trusts me to handle this.” Gwen countered. “Quill knows you too well. She’ll never tell you the truth. She’s not wrong about flirting with Owen or Tosh. They can’t work with that distraction.”

Jack seemed to be fighting an inner conflict. 

“I’ll be with you, anyway.” Leah reminded him. “So you’ll be making sure I have no contact with Quill.”

It helped calm Jack down. He glanced towards Quill, who hadn’t moved. “Three rules. One, don’t believe anything she says. Two, always keep her in front of you. And three, under no circumstances let her touch you.”

“As if I would.” Gwen agreed.

“Has he got on to the no touching rule yet?” Quill poked her head up, leaning towards the door. “He only invented that because he wants me all to  _ himself _ .” She smirked in Ianto’s direction.

Gwen marched off. She glared at Quill. Still, Gwen followed the rule and never touched Quill. “Keep in front.”

Quill just rolled her head, frowning. She followed Gwen’s lead like a child who didn’t get the feral they wanted.

Leah was shaking her head. She looked towards Jack. “You ready?”

“Gwen got a bug?” Jack asked instead.

“Fiver, yeah. Never takes him off.” Leah reported. “Lucky she did, we all could see how Argus proposed.”

“Rhys proposed?”

“Yeah. On the couch. He couldn’t bend to his knee- I’ll show you the vid in route.” Leah walked off towards Ianto. 

Jack wanted to smile at the story. He began it was great, and funny. He just could not relax with Quill around. He couldn’t risk his team, or his Time Lady. The Doctor’s warning was still playing in his head.

He couldn’t risk his best friend like that. Either of them.

==ILWAS==

The first location was a shipping yard. Gwen kept Quill in the front. Quill was opening the doors.

She slammed the latest one shut. “Nothing, nothing, and more  _ nothing _ . Are you sure this is the right spot?”

“Yeah. But containers get shifted all the time.” Gwen excused.

Quill groaned. She pressed her fingers to the side of her head, rubbing just above the sunglasses. “That’ll take  _ days _ .”

She walked on towards a different storage crate. 

“So, that man, the one with the canister. How did you get to know him again?” Gwen asked.

“Rehab.” Quill answered. “Murder Rehab. They like torturing you until you’re done being a murderer. John Hart died there. I got out two hours ago.”

“Oh.” Gwen replied, awkwardly. 

“Yeah.” Quill replied curtly. “Any of that good enough for Captain Jack?”

“What?”

“He sent you to ask questions, yeah? Doesn’t trust anybody else to do it.” Quill turned to Gwen. Gwen couldn’t see her eyes, tightening her hand on her weapon on instinct. Quill smiled widely. “Would it make him happier to know I was suffering? Would that give my words meaning, that I suffered in order to bring you the news? That I  _ lost something  _ so I could  _ give back _ ?”

“I’m sorry.” Gwen admitted. Quill stopped smiling, turning to open the storage case. “Are you alright now?”

“We’re done talking about this.”

“Right, yeah, of course.” Gwen’s phone rang. “Um-”

“Just fucking answer it.” Quill grumbled. Her hand was tight on a lever.

Gwen stepped back. She answered her phone.

Quill took deep breaths. 

“Shouldn’t you be asleep?.

_ “I got it.”  _ Rhys told her.

“Sorry?”

_ “Manager at Harwoods. The letter was on the mat. I got the bloody job.” _

“Oh, my God. Rhys, that is fantastic.” Gwen praised him. Quill took more deep breaths. Her grip tightening on the lever.

_ “I don't suppose there's any chance of me seeing you before breakfast, is there?”  _ Rhys asked.

“It looks like it’s gonna be an all nighter, so go on, get yourself to bed.” Gwen told her fiancé. “I am so proud of you. I love you.”

_ “Yeah, well, I love you more.” _

“Bye.” Gwen turned back. She hadn’t even noticed she turned away from Quill until she couldn’t find the woman. 

“Quill?” Gwen called out. “Quill? Quill. Quill!”

Something tapped her shoulder. Gwen whirled around, her gun ready to fire. Quill stood there blank faced. 

Gwen shook.

Quill continued to stare. 

“Where were you?” Gwen snapped. “Where did you go?”

Quill took a step forward.

“Stay back!” Gwen snapped.

Quill stopped. “You engaged?”

Gwen’s breathing was picking up. The hair on her neck was starting to stand. “What?”

“You’re wearing a ring. Classic Earth engagement ring.” Quill explained. “Your voice reached a higher pitch, as people usually talk higher around someone who they are more romantic towards. You’re engaged.”

“So what if I am?” Gwen snapped.

Quill turned away to the closest storage shed. “He sounded nice.” 

“Keep in front of me, okay?” Gwen ordered.

“Fuck, you’re so untrusting. But with your boss, it’s probably wise.” Quill scoffed.

“Yeah, well, I trust him just fine, thank you.” Gwen stated.

“Once a conman, always a conman.” Quill countered.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean he’s not trustworthy. He’s not who he says. He lied about every little thing, Gwen. There’s a lot about him you don’t know.” Quill lifted a lever on a storage crate. “Come on, just be fucking in here.”

The door opened. 

Gwen aimed her flashlight inside. After a brief scan with it, they spotted the canister. 

“Fucking finally.” Quill sighed in relief.

“Is that it?” Gwen asked. Gwen walked ahead, rushing toward it. 

Quill quietly staked behind. Her wide smile back. 

Gwen didn’t even reach the canister. Quill grabbed her arm, pushing her against the wall. Gwen yelped. Quill poked her forehead.

“What are you doing? Get off me.” Gwen snapped. She pushed off the arms holding her up. 

Quill released her. Gwen shingled to her knees. “You really shouldn’t have turned your back.”

Gwen strained to stand. It only sent her further to the ground. “What’ve you done?”

“No, don’t get up.” Quill picked up the canister. She attached it to her pants. “I mean, you can’t anyway. I can control things- just with a touch. Like Midas without the gold. Everyone from my time is a little psychic, see, so we can do shit like that. You get it- your time is full of psychics. I’m letting you go to sleep. Nothing scary. Unless your own mind scares you. Endlessly. Or until your friends will find you.”

Quill plucked away Gwen’s phone and a tiny little bug from her jacket lapel.

Gwen glared, struggling to keep her eyes open. 

“Thanks. You gonna be okay in here without me?” Quill walked back to the entrance. She didn’t look back. “They won’t be here in time to save Jack. We have a debt between us that I am owed.”

Quill closed the doors.

Gwen fell into darkness.

Quill touched the bug onto the phone, tossing them both over into a large stack of storage containers. 

==ILWAS==

Quill couldn’t keep listening to this. Owen and Tosh were flirting with each other. Well. Almost flirting. They wanted to flirt with each other, some stupid emotional thing keeping them from doing that. A whole warehouse to search for a one foot tall canister, they wasted time by dancing around each other.

She almost pitied Chloe Johnson. If Quill were in that conversation, there would be flirting going on. Quill was in fact going to guarantee it.

She snuck up behind them. She pressed a finger to Chloe’s neck. The agent collapsed. Quill quickly lowered her to the ground, snatching her gun. 

Owen spotted the canister. He stepped up a ladder for it.

Quill walked up behind Tosh. Tosh didn’t notice- assuming it was Chloe.

“Job done.” Owen praised. 

“Grab it, then we can go.” Tosh instructed. 

Quill obeyed orders. She reached around, grabbing Tosh by the neck. Tosh screamed. Owen snapped around.

“Where’s Gwen?” Tosh demanded. Her voice was trembling as Quill held her neck tight. “And Chloe?”

“Jack has really let his tastes go. So many of his people sleeping on the job.” Quill clicked her tongue. “Owen, baby, shoot me I shoot her.”

Owen lowered his gun. Tosh closed her eyes, shaking under Quill’s grip. “Leah, where are you?”

“I muted the comm system as soon as we left the demented sewer.” Quill explained. “Even those little clever bugs your friend made. She was clever, it was almost difficult. I love Hart’s little wrist strap. Now, phones.”

“You let her go or I will kill you. Okay?” Owen warned.

“Why- jealous?” Quill prompted. Tosh reached for the phone in her pocket. “You seem like the bad girl type, Toshiko. Maybe after this, we’ll go out for dinner. What do you say, Toshiko? You, me, dinner on the starlight? I’m recently single and ready to mingle.”

Tosh gave Quill her phone. Owen tossed his over.

Quill released Tosh. She walked over to a shelf, pulling off a plank of wood. 

“What do you like more, the paddle or the whip?” Quill asked. 

“Yeah, look, stop toying with me and get on with it.” Owen ordered.

Quill fired a shot into the ceiling. She then smacked Owen with the still hot barrel of the gun. He fell to the ground. Quill grinned, laughing as she turned back towards a shaking Tosh. 

==ILWAS==

Leah wanted to shoot them. Or herself. Her next self would thankfully forget this conversation, of Jack actually being flustered to flirt.

Their area to check was an office building. Apparently, Jack was excited.

“Oh, yeah. Loving that officy feel.” Jack cheered. He started walking around the office, no goal in sight. 

Leah and Ianto were trying to work. She ignored the awful feeling in her stomach, the feeling that told her it would be easier to throw up dinner and run from this place then stick around. She wanted to stay at the Hub, safe and sound. She could text Garfield, or her parents. 

She didn’t like being exposed. A year in survival mode would do that to anyone. One timely scan from a Toclafane meant extinction. Leah didn’t know how Terra kept her had up for it. Leah barely could. 

“I always get excited in these places.” Jack admitted. “To me, they’re exotic. Office romances. Photocopying your butt. Well, maybe not your butt, although as we’re here why don’t we photo-”

Ianto thankfully interrupted. “The rift was active at these coordinates approximately two hundred feet above ground. That means this floor or the roof.”

“I’ll check the roof!” Leah made to leave. 

“No, you stay here.” Jack ordered. Leah halted, silently groaning. She went back to searching the desks. “How are you, Ianto?”

_ Someone shoot her, please? _

“All the better for having you back, sir.” Ianto replied while searching a desk.

“Can we maybe drop the sir, now?” Jack asked. “I mean, while I was away, I was thinking, maybe we could, when this is all done. Dinner? A movie?”

Leah paused. She looked up at Jack and Ianto. Her hearts were hammering.

“Are you asking me out on a date?” Ianto asked.

“Interested?” Jack asked. He was uncharacteristically nervous. Jack Harkness was nervous asking someone out. Leah wanted to check the skies for flying pigs.

“Well, as long as it’s not in an office. Some fetishes should be kept to yourself.” Ianto replied.

Leah could regenerate happy. Her favorite two people were finally going out. At long last, she could have peace. “If you two are done flirting, there’s a radioactive canister we have to find?”

“Right. Yes, thank you, Leah.” Jack checked the desk closest to him.

Ianto sent Leah a confused smile. Leah beamed back, happily nodding. 

“Looks like we’re gonna have to go through every drawer, bin, and plant pot.” Jack stated.

“Right, okay. Leah and I’ll do this floor. Don’t want you getting overexcited.” Ianto decided. “And you take the roof. You’re good on roofs.”

Jack nodded. Obeying, he walked towards the door back to the elevator. 

“Jack?” Ianto prompted. Jack turned to him. “Why are we helping her?”

Jack frowned, tension in his shoulders. He looked over at Leah, scanning her before moving his gaze to Ianto. “She’s someone I want gone.” “By the way, was that a yes?”

Ianto nodded. “Yes. Yes.” He babbled.

Jack beamed.

==ILWAS==

Leah and Ianto searched the office for a few more minutes. They hadn’t found it yet. The elevator went off. 

“I’ll go see him.” Leah volunteered. She walked towards the door. “Probably coming to say he couldn’t find it.”

“That makes sense.” Ianto agreed.

Leah was standing in front of the elevator. There wasn’t anyone in the elevators.

She heard the cock of a gun. 

Leah turned back. Quill stood there, confident as ever. 

Ianto must have noticed. Leah heard the door open behind her. 

“Into the lift, Jack’s boy.” Quill ordered. “Little miss you stay here a minute.”

“No.” Leah answered. “Ianto don’t-”

“Do it, or I kill her.”

“You’ll have to try a few times.” Leah challenged. 

“Owen? Gwen?  _ Jack _ ?” Ianto called out. 

“What am I, a child? Even if it’s sophisticated, it’s still easily blocked.” Quill admitted. “You should be embarrassed.”

Leah watched in silent horror. 

Quill raised a challenging eyebrow at Leah.

Leah glared. “You messed up my bugs.”

The murderer was giving Leah a curious stare. “The puns were almost clever, I’ll give you that. When you get to the bottom, little ones, run. You look like people who enjoy a challenge. See if you can save them. Come back up here, I’ll shoot on sight.”

Ianto stepped into the lift.

Quill grabbed Leah’s arm, her smile demented. “You’re her, aren’t you? Terra Stardust, the younger.”

_ You tortured my friend, and you liked it _

_ My aunt could be dead _

_ My team could all be dead because of you _

_ You’re a monster, that’s what Jack said. _

_ Staring you down right now, I can’t help but agree _

Leah shook her head.

“You  _ are _ . Oh you  _ are _ an infant, such a young little Lady you are.”

_ “Going down.” _

“Going down. Yes, please.” Quill cheered. “Bye, she’s catching the next one.”

Ianto held the door open.

_ “Please stand clear of the doors.” _

“Why are you doing this?” Ianto demanded.

“Why does anyone do anything stupid?” Quill replied. “Pain and misery are all that the world is, all that makes up one’s daily actions. The only way to make it go away is to spread it to other people. Fill them with fear, revulsion, shadows in every corner, horror that keeps you from ever feeling happy again. So run, Ianto Jones, run and know that I’ve got a gun to this girl’s head, and any action you take to save her will only mean a bullet in her skull.”

Ianto’s voice trembled. “Leah-”

“It’s alright.” Leah assured him. She wasn’t sure if she meant it. “I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

_ “Going down. Doors closing.” _

Quill laughed. The doors closed, so Quill pushed the call button.

“Wow, no wonder he didn’t want me knowing about you.” Quill laughed. 

“You know her then?” Leah swallowed a heavy thing in her throat. Maybe it was fear- maybe it was that vomit from earlier. 

She should’ve stayed behind.

Quill’s smile told Leah everything Jack hid.

Her hearts were racing.

“Run, little girl.” Quill taunted. “Run away. And know, that I’ll find you again.”

The elevator dinged when it arrived. Quill backed Leah into it, never once breaking eye contact.

Quill’s final words as the doors closed echoed in Leah’s head for a long time.

“I can’t wait to see how this version screams.”

==ILWAS==

Jack was considering heading back downstairs to call it. He spotted the canister just before that moment, which he was relieved about. Once Quill was gone, he and Ianto could work on that date. Well after he met with the Luna-Johnson’s. Maybe someday they could double, freak Leah out.

That would be so worth it.

“Congrats! You’ve found all three!”

Jack whirled around. Quill was walking up to him. Two canisters were attached to her hips, a gun in her hand. 

His phone started ringing.

Quill walked up. She snatched it away. “It’s your boyfriend. He wants to know about your late night fling.” She tossed the phone off the roof. “Or to tell you if your team is dead.”

“If you’ve harmed them in any way-” Jack snarled.

“I told you I was recovering, Captain. How many more people do I have to hurt to get it through your thick skull?” Quill asked. “Besides, you don’t care about the humans. You just wanna know if I hurt  _ Little Leah.” _

“Did you?” Jack demanded.

“Hand over the canister, and I’ll tell you.” Quill offered.

“Radiation cluster bombs? Really?” Jack asked.

“Hey, if John hart was a liar, that says more about you than me.” Quill dismissed. “Let’s not find out.”

“Little embarrassing that you needed help to find them.” Jack taunted.

Quill saw his taunts. She smiled brightly, so brightly that it would’ve been innocent on any other face. On her, it was demented. ”Did I? Or did I play a little game of spider and fly?”

Jack lost his own smug grin. Instead he twisted up his lips in disgust. “Is that what you wanted?”

“Oh of course. Psychological warfare was my major in university.” She grinned. “Tell me- how does it feel? To not know? To know that  _ I  _ was the last one to see your friends alive?”

“Why?” Jack growled. “Why are you doing this?”

Quill grinned without joy. She grinned the way Hannibal Lecter would grin. “Did you know she screamed for you? At the end?”

Jack froze, face stuck.

Quill chuckled. The sinister nature of it chilled Jack. “ _ Help me Jack, Jack please help me! _ Over and over again. You never showed. I did. A poor little girl, surrounded by rubble and the dead, abandoned by anyone that had ever loved her, and I was there first. She was easy pickings. She was begging me to end it.”

Jack thought there was nobody he hated more than the Master. He was wrong. Quill Crowley was worse, way worse.

“Then I met John Hart. He gave me the full story on you,  _ Face of Boe _ . I owe John Hart a debt. Unfortunately, he’s dead. That debt carried over to his wife. Ergo, you.”

“Did you put those bombs through the Rift?” Jack demanded.

“No. Despite all the evidence counterwise, I adore this planet.” Quill grimaced. “Even if it has a quadrillion spiders...just fucking shit up wherever they want... _ bleugh _ ...but regardless I like it. Hart really did fuck a lady, kill her, and then she set up all the bombs as a way to piss him off. Made up a lie about a diamond too, he’s such a simple thug. But he pissed me off so I asked him one final thing before he died.  _ Tell me about your wife.  _ He said he was going to die because of radiation canisters he let slip over. So if it helps, you were in his final thoughts.”

Jack was done playing her games. “Why her? What did she ever do to you?”

“Why is everyone so obsessed with Terra fucking Stardust?” Quill huffed. “She was nobody. She was a fucking black hole that sucked everything alive inside it. She takes good people, and ruins them. Look at you, look at all the other people she knew!”

“Shut. Up.”

“Think about it. Terra Johnson is a vortex. She sucks people in. Something about her...people just wanted to be around her.” Quill paused, her smile fading. “My wife wanted to be around her.”

“So you killed her over jealousy?” Jack couldn’t believe that Terra would steal anyone’s wife. Yeah she stole Lucy but that was to protect her. “Terra wasn’t a home wrecker. She was trying to save your wife from you!”

Quill lashed out. She whacked Jack with the gun. “SHUT UP!”

“You can only blame yourself!” Jack yelled. “

“Terra is the reason my wife is dead, and she’s the reason John’s wife is dead!” Quill yelled. She held her hands tighter on Jack’s throat. “He only knew about us because of her. So. Imagine my luck when I see John’s love and Terra’s dying plea are looking for me, and he has more toys just for  _ me _ .”

Jack threw the canister off the building. “Whoops. Ha, ha, ha.”

Quill started laughing too. Only she didn’t stop.

She lifted him off his feet. Still laughing, she threw him over the edge.

Her laughter was the last thing Jack heard before dying.

==ILWAS==

Leah was typing on her tablet. She could see now what Quill had done to her bugs. Her poor little babies...she was fixing everything.

Ianto was dialling the team.

Leah heard everything connect. “Hello?!” She called out.

_ “Leah _ !” Her aunt shouted.  _ “Thank god. I don’t know what happened. Owen and Tosh said Quill was here!” _

“I know! We saw her too.” Leah confirmed. “Are you okay?”

_ “Owen’s got a nasty bump, and Tosh is going to need a cuppa. Ianto?” _

“I’ll make some for everyone once we know they’re safe.” Ianto stated. “Leah, anything from Gwen?”

“No. She’s quiet.” Leah tapped at her tablet. “I’ll tell Fiver to go home. She’ll find Gwen for us. I’ll track her phone too just in case.”

_ “Good.”  _ Tosh’s voice chimed in.  _ “What about Jack?” _

Ianto and Leah exchanged concerned looks. Hark-Six was still quiet. 

==ILWAS==

Quill walked past Jack’s dead body. The canister wasn’t too far from it. It was a good mile marker.

She stood right next to him. Her thumb brushed his forehead, moving down his face to his chin.

“She would be so upset with me.” Quill mused to herself. She snatched the Vortex Manipulator off his wrist. “She loved thievery. Bye bye, Captain Jack. Thanks for the fun.”

==ILWAS==

Leah directed them to the shipping yard. Shipping containers were as far as the eye could see. 

As they neared the ping location of her phone, they started searching the shipping containers. So far they were empty if their friend. 

“If she's in one of these, we'll never find her. There's too many.” Ianto stated in frustration.

“Just keep looking.” Tosh insisted.

“We’re close, we have to be.” Chloe agreed.

“I'll try her phone again.” Ianto pulled out his phone to call her Gwen. 

They heard the ringing. 

“Over here.” Ianto yelled.

Leah checked her tablet. The phone was actually further away than Fiver. She chased after the team to see. 

All then found was a phone on the floor. 

Owen stomped his foot. “She must've dropped it.”

“Gwen! Gwen!” Ianto called out.

“Unless it’s another of _ her Majesty’s  _ tricks.” Tosh reasoned. 

“Fiver says she’s that way!” Leah shouted. She started running. She heard the team follow behind her. “Come on!”

They followed her to a closed container. Leah saw her little bug climbing on the door. She plucked him off.

Ianto and Owen opened the door. Gwen was spotted inside, unconscious. Tosh and Chloe ran inside, going to the woman’s side.

“Gwen? It's all right, we're here with you.” Tosh assured her.

Gwen’s eyes didn’t open.

“What happened? What's he done to her?” Chloe asked.

Owne knelt down, checking her vitals. “She's still breathing. No discernible injuries. Tosh, let's get this thing started. Ianto, take a swab. Right, pupils dilating, she's still conscious. Stay with us, darling.”

“It’s not anything toxic.” Tosh reported.

“She must have done something to her mind.” Chloe reasoned. “Leah! Come do your thing!”

Leah gulped. “Are- are you sure?”

“We don’t have much choice otherwise!” Chloe explained.

Leah walked over. She knelt by Gwen’s head, holding it in her hands. Her fingers reached to touch Gwen’s face.

“Okay...one psychic wake up call, coming up.”

==ILWAS==

Quill opened up all the canisters, pouring out their contents. There wasn’t anything radioactive inside. Quill was honestly disappointed. Instead there were pieces to a puzzle. She was beyond annoyed.

She heard the final piece beeping in someone’s pocket. A familiar someone’s pocket.

“So you got out.” Quill mumbled. “It makes sense that someone did, I was making quite a fuss.” She took a pyramid out of his pocket. “You got yourself noticed, you fucking fish.” Quill shook her head. “I remember hearing you were on something when they dragged you in...I’m trying to fuck up a dead fish.”

“It’s a Qhoqad.” 

Six guns cocked.

Quill looked back. Leah Luna-Johnson was standing at the leader’s position. On her left was Gwen, Ianto, and Chloe. On her right stood Owen and Tosh. 

“Okay. Pretty and resilient. Is that even fair?” Quill asked them.

“Humans are stronger than you give them credit for.” Leah stated.

“Maybe you didn’t realize. You can beat, shoot, threaten, and even poison us, and we keep coming back stronger every time.” Gwen warned her.

Quill applauded. “Ooh what a great speech. Will you earn an Emmy with that? Wait no, Brits don’t have Emmys. What do you have now, BAFTAs? Did you wanna earn a BAFTA with your speech?”

“I think she has a shot.” Jack made his entrance, walking out from an entrance that was just a smidge too brightly lit.

Quill stepped back, eyeing the Captain. A look of shock was on her face for a beat. It broke out into a wide surprised grin.

“Well, well, well. Look who can rise from the dead!” Quill laughed. “That’s just my luck, innit? Did you practice that? It would look great in the Vegas galaxies.”

“I can’t die.” Jack revealed.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously, you can’t kill me.” Jack walked down the stairs. His team let him pass. Jack walked up to Quill’s face, staring her down. “No matter how many times you try, I can’t die. Ever.”

“Oh I bet you wish you could.” Quill stepped up to meet his stare. Jack saw his own eyes reflected in the glasses. “What does it cost you? Every time you have to drag yourself back here, how does it feel? All that pain and trauma. Plus, you’re reborn into this god forsaken mess. If I had empathy I would pity you.”

“These people, this planet, all the beauty you could never see.  _ That’s  _ what I come back for.” Jack argued.

Quill sneered. “Well, goody on you.”

“What’s in the canisters?” Leah asked.

“It’s come clean time, Majesty.” Owen mocked.

“I told you. Radiation. They were going to erode and kill everyone in Cardiff. That’s what John Hart said anyway.” Quill explained.

“And we’re supposed to believe you?”

“I tell the truth more often than people think.” Quill replied. “The canisters were dangerous. I helped you get rid of them. The material wasn’t earthly. By my time, people got smart and used radiation to power things. Those canisters would’ve caused a bigger problem later. None of you were murdered. Jackie boy being the apparently obvious exception. Aren’t I nice like that?”

Nobody agreed with her.

==ILWAS==

Jack brought them all to his office. Leah was relieved to be back, finally breathing easy. 

“Open it.” Jack waved a hand to the nearly completed structure.

“Beg.” Quill demanded.

“Now!” Jack ordered.

“Beg.” Quill repeated.

Jack glared.

Quill rolled her head. She lifted the pyramid up above the triangle structure. “Fine. Let’s see if I was telling the truth.” The pyramid was dropped into place.

The pyramid lit up. A yellow projection appeared from it. The hologram was a beautiful woman in a white toga style dress, a head of thick brown hair, and a smile that looked smug.

“There she is.” Quill stated proudly.

“The woman you murdered.”

“No, no I want to be clear on that, no. Jack’s ex killed her. Not me.” Quill insisted. “I killed his ex. There’s a difference.”

_ “You’ve travelled several galaxies for this. Well done.” _

“Wow. He killed another babe. Wish I could kill him twice.” Quill clicked her tongue, shaking her head.

_ “Except, there’s no diamond. Only this.” _

The pyramid opened up. Everyone eyed the device, everyone except Quill wearing a smug grin. The pyramid rose up, humming and spinning in place. Nothing happened.

_ “It’s an explosive device which will latch on to the DNA of whoever killed me. It’ll detonate in ten minutes. It can’t be removed without exploding so, don’t bother trying. Goodbye, lover. See you in hell.” _ The hologram winked before fading off.

The pyramid lowered itself back to place. The smug smiles were gone.

“Good thing her murderer isn’t here.” Quill remarked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “That’d be awkward.”

==ILWAS==

They brought Quill upstairs. She was standing in front of their leaking statue. She was looking up at the sky, unable to give less of a shit.

Leah wondered how it was possible for any human to get this cold. She hadn’t seen hatred like this since Hartman, back at Torchwood One. She never thought another human could be that demented.

Jack held out his hand.

Quill tilted her head, innocent rocking on her heels.

“Give me back the house keys.” Jack demanded.

Quill pouted. She pulled the bigger Vortex Manipulator from her pants. She tossed it up. Jack caught it, tying it back to his wrist.

“Definitely bigger.” Jack preened.

“Just remember-”

“No.” Jack shook his head.

“Really? I think you wanna know-”

“No.” Jack repeated.

“Are you-”

“No. Go now, before I change my mind and kill you right here.” Jack challenged.

Leah knew Jack wanted to kill Quill. She saw the look in Jack’s eyes, saw the clenching of his hands as he fought the urge to grab his gun. Leah remembered Quill’s words...remember everything the others told her about what Quill told them.

Quill let loose would have every reason to kill Terra, kill Leah before she could become Terra. 

But Leah also knew...killing Quill would just put someone else in her place. Better to send her back to Murder Rehab then deal with her themselves.

“Listen-”

“Goodbye.” Jack insisted,

“Okay. Fine. I wanted to visit the Vegas galaxies anyway.” Quill reached for her Vortex Manipulator. “You asked if I was going after everyone you loved. Truth is, I am.” She smiled too wide, the sadistic nature of her clear. “I found Gray.”

She vanished before anyone could ask what she meant.

“Who’s Gray?” Gwen asked.

“It’s nothing.” Jack lied. “Let’s get back to work.”

Leah wanted to worry...there were bigger issues at hand.

Like Jack going out with her parents, and also Ianto, and getting Owen to spar practice. Anything to get Quill’s words out of her head.

==ILWAS==

Leah was wrapping her wrists. Owen stood beside her, eyeing the area with caution.

“Bloody hell, how much do vampires make?” Owen asked.

Leah shrugged. “No idea. None of his money came over with him, still he got this place. It’s nice, innit?”

Owen nodded in agreement. 

“It’s just investments.” Latshaw answered.

Owen jumped back, swinging. Latshaw grabbed his fist, spinning him around to face Leah.

“My ears were burning.” Latshaw teased. “So you must be Owen Harper. Leah has told me about you. You’re the one who hated her longest, yes?”

Owen grunted in Latshaw’s hold. Leah could help any time she wanted, any time at all. “I got better.”

“That you did.” Latshaw praised.

“Hey, where’s Anthony?” Leah asked, seeking to keep Owen in his plight.

“He said he wanted to go out tonight.” Latshaw explained. Owen tried to get out so Latshaw quickly flung the man over onto a mat. “Not to feed, mind you. I encouraged him to get a social life. Many people struggle after leaving abusive relationships. His relationship with his master was exactly that. I told him to take his time, and reclaim his life. She cut him off from so much, convinced him he was a danger to himself and others. My other self made great progress on him if he’s already socializing after three months.”

Leah smiled, proud of him. “Are you sure though? What if- what if he can’t handle it?”

“He’s not going out to a club.” Latshaw told her. Both of them ignored Owen’s groans as he got back to his feet. “Big crowds were the exact thing he was trained to enjoy, to search for, to hunt in. Smaller areas are- in his training- useless. Cafes, diners, libraries, they are what he needs to get used to society. We’ve been visiting various places together with Anthony choosing where we went.”

“Not you?”

“No. He’s had enough of a master dictating his every move. He needs to make them for himself.” Latshaw explained. Leah mentally took notes. “He needs to find the new Anthony Davies is, with or without me.”

Leah nodded. “Okay...I guess that will help.”

Her phone went off.

“You answer that.” Latshaw stepped on the mat. “Harper and I will start stretches.”

“You’ve been waiting for this.” Owen huffed.

Latshaw grinned, showing off the teeth.

Leah answered the phone. “Garfield! Hey, you still coming tonight?”

_ “How else will I know how the humans screwed up?” _

“Says the human.” Leah laughed. 

_ “Then I must be evolved, cause these humans are dumb shits.”  _ Garfield replied. _ “I’m right outside. Buzz me in?” _

“Sure thing!”

A few minutes later, Leah was hugging her friend. He ruffled her brown hair, she ruffled his dirty blonde.

“Ready to get beat?” Leah challenged him.

Garfield grinned at her. Leah must still be shaken from the day’s events, caused any smile was sending chills down her back. “Not a chance...hey who is that?”

Leah heard a thud. She looked back, seeing Owen knocking himself on his asss.

“Owen Harper! One of her idiot humans, I hear?” Garfield held out his hand.

“She thinks everyone’s an idiot.” Owen pointed out. He accepted the hand back up. “Gotta narrow that bit down.”

“The Torchwood Three idiots.” Garfield explained. Owen eyed Leah. “Hey, I know the whole thing. Not everybody got your Retcon treatment after Canary Wharf. If I’ve known this long without setting off alarms, then I think I’ve proved my trustworthiness.”

“Jack knows and approved.” Leah pointed out.

Owen conceded that point. “Fine, doesn’t matter. I’ll kick his arse anyway.”

Garfield and Leah laughed.

Latshaw patted Owen on the shoulder. “Now...let’s see about that aggression Leah was telling me about.”

“Wait Jack is back?” Garfield asked.

“Yeah...went out to meet my parents.”

“Isn’t that a big deal, when the mister meets the parents?” Garfield teased, bumping Leah’s arm.

She shoved him. The two of them started their usual stretches. Occasionally they looked over in amusement to see Owen working with Latshaw.

“He’s not like that, he asked Ianto out. Finally.” Leah explained. “He’s a boss meeting his coworker’s family. Probably getting embarrassing photos.”

“You aren’t bothered?” Garfield remarked.

“Honestly? I’m more worried that Jack will start flirting, and my moms will turn him down so hard he’ll drop dead in the middle of dinner.” Leah explained.

The mental image must’ve looked funny, cause Garfield laughed.

Leah imagined it. She laughed too.

Owen fell to the ground again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My ‘h’ key died near the end. Good thing none of my characters have ‘h’s in their names...Leah, Chloe, Harper, Tosh...nOnE oF tHeM  
> Do you like Quill? Is she fucked up? I’m trying to show what effect Terra really has on this universe, that she has enemies here just like the Doctor does. Just like his, Terra’s enemies wanna fuck over her through any means available.  
> I have watched so many horror films with fucked up people to get a feel for Quill’s character. Fingers crossed that I got her right. I also watched some Good Omens and I am so sorry but Tennant’s swagger was too powerful, I kept writing him in instead.  
> ...did y’all like it?


	2. Carry You Down To Sleep(er)

Leah fell to the ground. She huffed, pushing herself back to her feet. She tried to throw herself back into the fight.

Latshaw blocked her. He pushed her back. Leah stumbled, barely keeping herself from falling again. She glared at him. Latshaw glared right back. “Bench! Now!”

Leah huffed. She marched off, angry. Once she sat down she went about throwing off all the workout gear she wore. She was done. It didn’t matter that Latshaw would probably call her back up to practice, Leah wanted to go home. Or take a walk, angrily march in the streets of Cardiff. That would calm her down.

When she was doing this, Garfield walked over to her side.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” Leah snapped.

Garfield nodded. He leaned against the wall, looking down at her with a blank expression.

“I won’t.” She tossed all her workout gear into her workout bag. 

Garfield reached a hand to his hair, ruffling it.

Leah hated how nonchalant he could be. She wanted to stew in peace, in silence, to hide away from the world. Garfield did this whole thing whenever she got like this, not letting her rage in peace. Even in the Year, Garfield worked to keep her out of it. In that time it was a comfort to know a friend like that. Now it was the greatest injustice known to man.

She stood up from the bench, walking to the exit.

“Hey!” Latshaw called out from the mat. He was working with Anthony and Owen. So many reminders of things that Leah didn’t want to deal with right now. “Get back here!”

“Fuck off!” Leah shouted back. Why did she do that? Now she felt bad. When she calmed down, she would apologize. 

Without looking behind her, Leah left Latshaw’s flat. 

She heard footsteps behind her. Garfield just wouldn’t let her have this space!

“Leave me alone, Garfield!” Leah demanded.

“Make me, Leah.” Garfield replied. Leah wanted to grunt and growl- frustration flaring up inside.

She just wanted the world to be quiet so she could be angry. She wanted to rage, to let out her aggression. Training wasn’t helping this time. Being around stupid humans rarely helped. Why should it? None of them understood what Leah was going through. They were alien to her, she to them. Her feelings were more complex than their tiny minds could fucking handle.

Being angry with her life was a given. She wanted to be angry sometimes. She was allowed to let it all go, to just feel her feelings.

Garfield walked behind her. Following her, around corners and over crosswalks. He was always just behind. Almost like he was taking care not to walk alongside her. He definitely knew that Leah was going to hit him if he tried.

Leah wanted to hit him anyway. Hit him, hit Latshaw, hit Jack, hit everyone on this damned planet.

She stopped in front of an all night coffee shop. Leah and Garfield hung out at places like this- he was in the human demographic of staying up until 3 for the fuck of it. Leah didn’t sleep like humans (she didn’t sleep like anything lately, too stressed from Jack and Quill and life). This place felt safe- helpful. 

Now it felt like a showdown.

Leah whirled around at him. Her hair flaring out from her workout bun as she turned. Garfield stood there- chilled and relaxed. Like a cobra hiding before a strike. “What do you  _ want from me _ ?”

“I want to know what happened to you.” Garfield asked. “Whenever you want to tell me.”

You know what? Leah hated that Garfield was understanding like that. “Really? You  _ really _ want that?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not just- just waiting for me to- to blow up and forget about it?” Leah snapped. “To get over it?”

Garfield braced himself. He met Leah’s hate filled stare. “No. I just want to be here for you.”

Leah scoffed, snorting at the joke. The universe was so funny when it chose to be. Especially at her expense. “Sure you do.  _ Sure _ ! There’s definitely  _ no other reason _ ! Why would there be?”

“Leah. You’re freaking out. Something happened at Torchwood. Do you need to talk about it?” Garfield pressed.

What was there to talk about? An alien invasion happened. They sent agents to invade Earth, to weed out all their weaknesses before striking. Beth killed three people before they stopped her. She tried to kill Gwen too. Torchwood stopped the invasion- a single human heartbeat before failure. 

Leah failed. She thought she tricked Beth’s alien tech. That she stopped it. She was getting sloppy. It was hard to sleep, picturing Quill coming back or Jack leaving again or the Year...Leah just wanted to get away from all of it.

Every day she lived here...every step she took...Leah wondered what separated her from Beth. There was no alien beneath her skin, sleeping until the invasion. Just her next regeneration. Just something about her- something awful and so unfathomable that her own people were scared of her. 

There was something like an alien inside of her. Leah could never reach her. The one interaction between them was blurred and fuzzy. Latshaw was reliable for questions. Leah never liked asking about that day. She remembered seeing her future self for a moment before the world went to hell. Hearing her name echoed by hopeful humans for a whole year.

Leah wanted to scream. She wanted to rage at everyone and everything. She wanted to fight. She wanted to choose what happened to her. Couldn’t her life be her own? Why did it belong to the versions of her that didn’t exist yet?

How could she possibly explain any of this to Garfield?

“Its  _ nothing _ .” Leah insisted. Was she trying to fool Garfield, or herself? Could she even fool herself like that? She hoped so.

Garfield shook his head. “No. I get that you might not want to share, but I don’t like where you’re at. Please talk to me?”

It sucked how effective that was. Leah was hurting, she was mature enough to admit that. She didn’t want her friend hurting over her. “I’m just- it wasn’t a bad day.” At Garfield’s look she added “It wasn’t a  _ really bad  _ day. Just- I was fine. After. For a few hours I was  _ fine _ .”

Garfield sat down on a nearby bench. He offered the space beside him to Leah. 

Leah didn’t want to sit. If she sat down, she’d calm down. Anger was her motivation right now. Her very reason for being was the simmering anger, separating her from the alien beneath the surface.

Garfield was silent. Just silent. Patiently waiting until Leah spoke again.

“There- there was a murder. Home invasion. The husband was attacked, and the wife didn’t have a scratch, and the invaders were stabbed to all hell. So we looked at the wife but she didn’t remember a thing-”

She explained the events in a rambled mess. She was certain she left out important details to the overall story. Did she mention that she determined the weapon as alien in origin? Did she mention that she and Owen argued with Gwen about the wife doing it? Leah knew she left out an argument between Chloe and Tosh about what new man Chloe had in her life. It certainly didn’t matter to anything happening here.

Garfield just listened, taking it all in. Leah suddenly remembered a night just like this a year ago. Leah and Garfield were eating takeaway in a sewer. Garfield was talking about his parents. A story about how they died back in the Battle of Canary Wharf, of how scared he’d been that he would be next. Leah shared a similar story, what she could remember of it at least. It was bonding, it was enlightening, it made her feel like a person. 

Now it was happening again. Only they weren’t eating fries as Leah talked.

“Then she died. See? Nothing.” Leah finished. Garfield didn’t buy that for a second. Leah sighed, leaning back on the bench. She’d sat down at some point in the story. “It’s just the whole thing. It reminded me- well it just felt familiar- I’m upset over nothing.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing.” Garfield replied. “Looks like an alien thing. What, think I’m too human to get it?”

“No!” Leah denied. She reached up, pulling up hair out from the ponytail. She tucked the ponytails in her hoodie pockets. “No it’s- I mean kinda. I just- there was this- what if I end up like her?”

Garfield eyed her, confused. 

“I’m an alien, and one day- one day I’ll wake up a completely different person. That person won’t care about the same things I do, the same people. She could walk over their dead bodies like they’re nothing. Walk over  _ your _ ’s like that.” Leah explained. “I- I don’t know if I can handle that.”

Garfield hummed. Not a disgusted hum, or a dismissive one. Just a neutral hum. “Yeah...that  _ would _ mess somebody up.”

Leah sighed, curling against the bench. 

“You know you’re not gonna be like that, right?” Garfield asked. Leah stared tiredly at him. “No, I mean it. You won’t. From what I’ve earned about Time Lords, they don’t change  _ that  _ much.”

“Sometimes we change genders. Or species.” Leah added.

“Is that common?” Garfield asked.

It was actually really rare. Leah couldn’t just tell Garfield that, he would love that argument. “Yeah.”

“Bullshit.” Garfield countered. “You know what? If she really is that much of a bitch, I’ll step in.”

Leah paused.

She considered that, earlier in the day. Most everyone around her was a lost cause. They all  _ loved _ Terra too much. Jack missed her with every waking day. Latshaw would always think of her first, then Leah. Anthony- his own issues were enough. She couldn’t burden him further (especially when her future self hurt him in the first place). Garfield though? Maybe...he was the most impartial of everyone in her group. The only one that kept Terra off a pedestal.

“You would?” Leah asked.

“For sure.” Garfield promised. He smiled. It made Leah smile too. “If you want.”

Leah could see it. Garfield matching up to Terra, giving her a scolding. Getting Terra to be a better person, a person like Leah instead of a- a whatever she was.

She remembered Beth’s face. Remembered Beth crying at the thought of hurting her husband, or anyone that she loved. Leah could empathize with that pain. What if Terra did something like that to Leah’s family and friends?

Would Garfield really be enough?

“I don’t know.” Leah admitted. “She- she would be a wild card.”

“Pfft, I can handle Harper. I can handle anybody now.” Garfield assured her. “Even a Time Lady with an identity crisis.”

Leah wanted to believe him. 

So she did. 

“Thank you.”

Garfield tipped his head to her. “So. With you feeling better, wanna get some fries?”

“ _ Yes _ !” Leah cheered. 

The two friends hopped from the bench. Leah rushed into the diner behind them.

Garfield followed behind. His grin stretching wider, curling with a smug smirk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah this took awhile. It’s interesting getting Leah’s perspective on things, along with her relationship with Garfield. Exploring how this all affects her, it’s fun to do. Hopefully more fun next time!  
> Good luck everybody, with the holidays and with Covid.


End file.
